Strategy Mapping: Corporate and Business Levels for British Airways

This report analyzes the corporate and business-level strategies of British Airways (BA), the UK flag carrier. The analysis focuses on BA's response to increased competition and economic recession from 2007 to 2012. The report examines BA's strategic objectives, including maintaining its position as the airline of choice, delivering outstanding customer service, expanding its presence in key global cities, maintaining its hub at Heathrow Airport, and meeting customer needs. The strategy map outlines how BA aims to achieve these objectives through initiatives focused on financial performance, customer experience, internal processes, and external factors. The report highlights key objectives such as increasing revenue, improving customer experience, and enhancing competitiveness with domestic rail services. The analysis includes interpretation of how various factors influence BA's strategic decisions, such as initiatives to increase revenue from short-haul flights, improve partnerships, invest in low-cost carrier aircrafts, reduce costs, enhance customer experience, and respond to external pressures such as reduced household income and increased competition. The report references the BA strategy document and a strategy textbook by Johnson, Scholes & Whittington (2017).

Week 1-Task 2: Strategy Mapping
Prepared by Group:
Using British Airways (BA) as a case study, map the Corporate and Business Level
Strategies of the corporation.
British Airways (BA) is the UK flag carrier. From 2007 to 2012, the airline suffered very stiff
competition from rivals such as easyJet and Ryanair due to its low patronage of long-haul
flights. In response to recession and increased competition occasioned by reduction in growth
of household income, British Airways needed to make some changes to its operations, which
included maintaining strategic partnerships to sustain income from its long-haul flights, while
investing in low-cost carrier aircrafts for short-haul flights.
Johnson, Scholes & Whittington (2017) described strategy as the direction and scope of
an organization over a long time which achieves advantage in a changing environment
through its configuration of resources and competences to fulfil stakeholder
expectations. The different levels of strategy comprise of corporate, business and
functional, however the BA map will focus on corporate and business levels.
The strategy map (figure 1) portrays how the British Airways (BA) has developed
strategies in relation to corporate and business levels. BA has tried to achieve its 5 key
objectives which include:
 Airline of Choice - remain the top airline of choice for long haul premium
customs
 Outstanding Customer Service – deliver a top-quality service for passengers on
all routes and classes of travel and improve online services
 Key Global City Growth - continue to expand its presence in key global cities
through airline partnerships
 Build on its Leading Position in London - maintain Heathrow Airport as a world-
class hub and influence government policy and airport owners in continued
support
 Meet Customers' Needs - exploring the latest options and products to meet
customer needs and improve margins through revenue streams

Figure 1: British Airways Strategy map
PERSPECTIVES AND OBJECTIVES
1. Financial
a. Put in initiatives to increase revenue from short-haul flights, while
b. Improve partnerships to sustain income from long-haul flights
c. Invest in low-cost carrier aircrafts
d. Reduce cost from fuel by using eco-friendly aircrafts
e. Reduce hidden charges

2. Customer
a. Improve flight experience for flyers over 45 years old
b. Increase incentives for flyers less than 16 years old
c. Improve on CSR-friendly initiatives (to woo youung travellers)
d. Key into eco-friendly initiatives (to woo eco-savvy customers)
3. Internal Process
a. Enhance boarding and exit processes
b. Improve partnership with government and other institutions
4. External Factors
a. Reduction in growth of household income (occasioned by recession)
b. Perceived reduction in customer confidence
c. Strong competition coming other flight operators and domestic rail services
(particuluarly, on cost and time perspectives)
STRATEGY MAP - MAPPING OBJECTIVES ACROSS PERSPECTIVES
Objective Summary
1. To enhance initiatives to increase revenue and patronage, whilst reducing cost
2. To improve initiatives to increase customer experience and confidence
3. To promote initiatives that allow for better competition with domestic rail services
Perspective Mapping across Financial, Customer, Internal Process and, External
Factors.
1. 2(a) maps 3(a), 3(b), 4(a) and 4(b) to increase 1(b) while reducing 1(d)
Interpretation - To sustain income from long-haul flights, British Airways can redesign it's
operations with partner firms to accomodate cost reduction and improvement in cash flow,
while
striving to uphold customer confidence by providing better flight experience for older flyers
travelling long-haul

2. 1(c) maps 1(e), 2(c) and 2(d) to increase 4(b) while reducing 4(c)
Interpretation - Initiatives to reduce hidden charges and emissions using eco-friendly
aircrafts, whilst promoting better customer relations can repel competition from domestic
rail services
Reference:
British Airways (2009/10) Our Strategy and Objectives. Available at:
https://www.britishairways.com/cms/global/microsites/ba_reports0910/pdfs/Strategy.pdf
(Accessed: 31 March 2020).
Johnson, G., Whittington, R., Scholes, K., Angwin, D. and Regner, P. (2017). Exploring
Strategy: Text and Cases. Harlow: Pearson.